Mission Impossible
by XxGTSCxX
Summary: In an AU, after the Tenrojima Arc, Lucy is kidnapped and tortured for no given reason, and now, with her own wits and abilities, she'll have to figure out why she was abducted while avoiding her guild mates and learning how to survive.
1. Break Out

A/N: Okay, so I'm gonna go on a hiatus for my original work to actually start on this new Fairytail story with Lucy, of course, as the main character. However, unlike my previous fic, it's the normal FairyTail universe and not a modern AU. Plus, the romance will be undecided. I'm not sure who should she end up with just yet (Despite being a NaLu shipper myself), so as the story goes, maybe you guys could actually vote or suggest who Lucy should end up with =) [But just because the couple has the most vote/suggestion doesn't mean I'll make them a couple] Okay, enjoy ^^

Warning, the following story can be rather gore-ish.

* * *

Lucy's eyes opened to the dim orange lights that managed to weave their way past her eyelids. Although her visions cleared, her head remained foggy, unable to comprehend what was going on.

_Where am I?_ Was her first question.

She tried to move but immediately aborted the idea when pain shot through her nerves.

_Okay, scratch that..._

Feeling her dry throat and cracked lips, she instinctively licked her lips and attempted to swallow what little saliva she had left in her mouth, but what went down her throat was blood, stunning herself a little.

"Awake now are ya?" A man suddenly spoke.

Tilting her head ever so slightly, a masked man came to her view along with most of her memories of how she got into this mess.

* * *

**5 Hours before**

"Lucy!" Mirajane called out to the blonde who had just entered the guild.

Curious about the sudden shout out, Lucy proceeded to the bar with a quizzical gaze directed at the owner of the voice.

"What is it Mira?"

"This."

Taking over the paper Mirajane handed to her, Lucy quickly scanned it.

"A job?!" Lucy asked a little too delighted than usual; having an up coming rent due with no money to show for wasn't the best of things.

"Yeah... but..." In striking contrast to Lucy's tone, Mira's was filled with worry. "There is an... odd... condition for this job..."

"Lucy has to dress up as a maid?" Natsu butted in from nowhere only to be socketed by Lucy.

"Or she has to dress up as a man?" Gray added only to have the same treatment Natsu received.

Giggling a little, Mira shook her head.

"Neither." Then turning to Lucy, she continued at a more serious note. "The job specifically stated that it is for you."

The boys immediately frowned at that while Lucy remained quite for Mirajane to continue.

"And it'll be a solo mission."

Natsu immediately spat out the drink he was downing whilst Lucy only nodded.

"Okay, done that before." - "What? Why?"

Turning to each other, Lucy gave Natsu an amused smile.

"Relax, it's not like it's my first solo mission."

"But, what if it were a trap? They specifically asked for you!"

"And why on Earthland would anyone want to 'trap' me?" Lucy asked rhetorically, waving the overprotective boy off.

The boy went into an unnatural -for him- silence as he seemed to have an internal battle within himself before looking at the blonde again.

"_Stay_ safe."

The blonde smiled.

"I will."

* * *

"Painful ain't it?" Lifting up a metal pipe, he elaborated. "A metal pipe."

The pipe was dented and stained with Lucy's blood and she swore that a few bones of hers had been broke by this mad man already.

Lucy wanted to say something, anything, but her throat was too dry to make a sound and all that came out was a small mumble. The man squatted down to bring his ear to her mouth.

"I'm sorry, what was 'at?" His tone had more humour than curiousity that only ticked Lucy off.

Unable to speak, she spat her blood onto the man's face, causing the man to send an immediate blow into her stomach. Letting Lucy cough and gasp in his satisfaction, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and started wiping his face.

"Now, 'at wasn't very lady-like, Miss 'Heartfilia'." He spat out with blunt disgust and sarcasm. "Now, let's beat that sense back in ya shall we?"

Bracing herself, Lucy shut her eyes tight.

* * *

**4 Hours Before**

"Okay, everything's packed and I'm ready to go." Lucy looked at her back pack and smiled in achievement.

Picking up the job sheet, she read it more carefully this time.

_Secret Mission for Lucy Heartfilia._

_Meet at the old warehouse out West of Magnolia to be briefed._

_Reward: 1 000 000 Jewels_

_Terms and Conditions apply. No property damage is to be caused for full payment. Mission must be conducted stealthily._

"Stealthy and quiet huh? No wonder they didn't want Natsu, Erza or Gray. Their biggest track record is to destroy and make things big." Lucy spoke to no one in particular. "But... why me?"

"Lucy, I don't like where this is going."

Lucy heaved an exasperated sigh and turned to her stellar spirit. "Loke, what are you doing here? I didn't ask for you."

"Well, I'm worried for you. I've got a bad premonition about this!"

"Yeah, well, if shit hit the fan, you can always jump out and help like the prince you are." Lucy teased him as she ran her finger across his jawline.

However, instead of playing along as he usually would, Loke remained solemn.

"You don't have to prove anything. You know that right?"

Suddenly, Lucy went flustered.

"W-What are you talking about? I'm not trying to prove anything."

Sighing Loke took one step closer to the in denial blonde.

"Lucy-"

"Forced gate closure."

* * *

"I really 'ate girls who think that no one'll ever lay a finger on 'em just cause they seem so delicate and pretty." The man continued his rant as he landed another blow onto the blondes shoulder.

At this point, Lucy was too tired and numb to even let out a whimper so she just laid there, motionless. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the man stopped and threw the pipe right beside Lucy's head, causing her to flinch.

"Now, be the good and civilised girl I taught you to be and _stay_ put."

With that said and done, the man took his leave and locked the warehouse door behind him. Groaning, Lucy sat herself up against the wall to gained her bearings.

_There's no way I'd get out of this place through that door... so... what now?_

Looking to the second floor, she saw another door beside a vending machine that really tempted her a lot and although it was just one flight of stairs up from where she was, it was going to be hell for her current condition. Not to mention the possibility of that door being locked too. Taking in a deep breath, she began her long and painful trip up, heart thumping hard against her chest since she had no idea when the mad man was going to return and if he returned before she could escape, then, well, there is no guarantee that she'll live to see another day.

Finally, after 10 minutes of climbing with both her hands and legs tied up and all the fractured bones in her body, she made it to the vending machine that was now looking all too thirst quenching. Numbly, she decided to do what she desperately needed to do despite the cost of it; she slammed her head into the machine. The vending machine was not only left unscathed, but the sound of the impact resonated loudly in the large empty space. She froze for a bit and used whatever energy that was left to listen if the man had returned. Nothing. Okay, biting her lips, she set herself straight in front of the machine and sent another mind-blowing hit into the contraption.

Finally, the display window shattered and the glass shards fell to the ground, some cutting Lucy along the way. Quickly, Lucy scrambled to pick up one shard and started cutting the rope that bound her hands and feet together. As the final rope got cut loose, so did the door on the first floor open, causing Lucy to panic.

"LUCY HEARTFILIA!"

The said girl immediately grabbed a bottle of tomato juice from the broken machine and, with all the adrenaline her body was now pumping into her system, slammed into the unlocked door and ran out.


	2. Wits

Lucy and her captor's footsteps rang loudly as both parties raced down the metal steps of the emergency exit stairs and the cold almost-winter weather wasn't helping Lucy's wounds either. Realising that at this rate, with her current physique, she'd be at the losing end, she decided to take the plunge - literally. She jumped off the last flight of stairs and gave herself only one second to recover despite all the pain shooting back and forth her body before pushing forward and into the alley, taking a turn and out of sight. However, her captor was not about to let her get away with it just yet. He immediately jumped off the last flight of stairs too and pressed forward, faster than before.

Taking the same turn, he caught a what little blonde hair was lagging behind the girl as she took her next turn and grinned. However, at the next turn, the blonde was nowhere to be seen. Slamming his fist against the brick wall, he looked to the ground and another devilish grin made it's way to his face.

Lucy continued running, face turning to look behind her every time she was about to make a turn to make sure the man wasn't on her trail. Her right hand was wrapped around her abdomen while her left holding the now empty bottle of tomato juice. Staggering to another turn, she winced to find a dead end.

_Not good..._

Lucy's captor continued to weave pass the maze, following the blood trail on the ground from wherever Lucy stalked, slowly gaining on her. Lucy looked around for a way up or around, but up was impossible with her current condition and the brick wall showed no signs of around, and she could turn back now but she had been taking a one way road since the 4th last turn. And worst of all, she could hear fast paced footsteps edging closer to her now.

_Extremely, **not** good..._

Her captor made the final turn and stood there for a few seconds before throwing his steel pipe to the ground and letting out an extremely frustrated yell after realising what had just happened; he had been played. From a few blocks down, Lucy and her stellar spirit heard the man's frustrated agony and Lucy quickly grabbed onto the overly pissed spirit who looked like he was more than ready to rip the man to shreds.

"Wait! Stop. I finally got away from him, I don't want to see him anytime soon." She coaxed him.

Before Loke could even say -or shout- his protest, Lucy went limp and he quickly caught her.

"What happened?" Loke asked, more gently now.

"Let's just say I played with that man a little." Lucy explained with a wink.

At the mad man's end, was a dog drenched in tomato juice, leaving behind the so-called 'blood trail' for him to follow.

Loke laughed and picked Lucy up in bridal style.

"Hahaha! That's my girl!"

"But, to make sure I didn't leave my own personal trail of blood, I had to wipe my blood off with this dirty and off the street rag." Lucy further elaborated as she held up the cloth she was pressing onto her abdomen.

"We are definitely going to have to bring you to a hospital now." Loke told the blonde as he brought the girl onto the abandoned streets due to the late hour.

"No. Not the hospital." Lucy stopped him.

Before Loke could argue, Lucy continued. "A clinic. A small one if possible. Not very well known..."

"Porlyusica?" Loke suggested.

"NO!" Lucy immediately shot out only to hold her abdomen in hopes of dulling the pain from the sudden outburst. "Not the guild. I can't go back... just yet."

With the last words rolling off her tongue, she passed out.

* * *

**3 Hours Before**

"So... this is the warehouse?" Lucy questioned rhetorically as she glanced at the two-story building in front of her.

However, the moment she stepped into the place, two people suited in complete overalls landed behind her and instantly jabbed her in the pressure point at her neck, knocking her out.

**1 Hour Before**

Lucy slowly opened her eyes and when she recalled what had happened, immediately started struggling to get out of her binds.

"Sorry lass, but 'at thing ain't comin' off so easily." Her captor told her as he dragged a chair towards the immobilised girl.

"What's this?" Lucy interrogated despite herself only to earn a laugh from the man.

"Do you honestly think you're in a position to demand right now?" As soon as the words left his mouth, the man slapped Lucy with the back of his hand, causing her to fall back to the ground. "BECAUSE YOU DON'T!"

Standing from his chair, the man started wiping his hands as though he had just touched something filthy.

"I really _hate_ you mages. Always thinkin' you're the boss of everyone."

With the man's back turned, Lucy attempted to reach her belt for her keys. However, despite reaching them, she couldn't summon any of her spirits.

"Wha-?"

The man started laughing hysterically once more.

"Like 'at handy work? These ropes prevent mages from using their magic. Like a stopper."

Grimacing internally, Lucy replied sarcastically, "Lovely."

Picking up his metal pipe, the man slowly made his way to the vulnerable girl, causing her to shiver in fear.

"Well now, let's get the party started shall we?"

The last thing Lucy saw before passing out, was the man's sadistic grin.

* * *

"Lucy?"

Once again, Lucy slowly opened her eyes. Fatigue still ridding her body coupled with a numbing sensation. She looked at herself to find herself dressed in a hospital gown and immediately shot up.

"Where am I?!"

"Calm down Lucy."

"Am I in a hospital?!"

"No you're not! Now listen!" Loke finally snapped.

Shocked by her spirit's sudden outburst, she piped down and decided to let the man speak.

"I've brought you to a small 24/7 clinic down town. They said they needed to change you into something loose in order to tend your wounds since their all over your body, thus the gown."

"I see..." Lucy slowly nodded, absorbing what Loke said.

Grabbing her abdomen, Lucy settled into the bed once more. Sighing in relief, Loke picked up a glass of water from the nightstand and handed it to the girl.

"Lucy..." Loke started. "I've been meaning to ask, but what the hell was that back there? Who was that man?"

"I don't know." Came Lucy's honest reply. "However, I do know the people who knocked me out."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Actually, it's more like I know where they came from."

"Do tell."

"Well, back when I was scouring for guilds before I joined FairyTail, I remember reading about a specific guild who's ways are... unique."

"Unique?" Loke parroted.

"Yeah, they are one of the few guilds who would recruit none mages and yet are still able to finish jobs that are usually too tough for normal people. Their methods are to be quick and stealthy. End it before it can even start."

Loke raised an impressed brow.

"That's something, but if that were so, wouldn't they have some sort of reputation? Why haven't I heard of them?"

"Well, it _is_ impressive but not as noticeable compared to how flashy mages complete their jobs so..."

"Speaking of which, what's their guild name?"

Lucy laughed a little to herself before answering.

"The Anonymous."

* * *

**Back In The Guild**

"I bet she's dressed as a maid now, doing undercover work." Natsu guessed.

"Nah, more likely a guy." Gray argued.

"Hmm..." Erza paused as she joined in the guessing game. "Perhaps an animal?"

The two boys and whoever in the vicinity who was within an earshot looked at the girl in disbelief.

"I still think it's a simple recon mission." Mira put her thought out on the table once more only to be waved away by the boys.

"Nah, if it were so simple, the reward wouldn't be 1 million jewels." Gray countered.

_Simple for Lucy but impossible for you three..._ Mira thought to herself before voicing another suggestion. "Well, maybe it's bagged with side quests."

"Like stealing top secret info from top secret camps?" Happy suggested.

"No, more like targeted for an unknown reason and now have to go in hiding." A different voice butted in.

"LUCY!" All of them cried out.

"Back so fast?" Mira asked.

"I can't believe even you can't complete a recon mission." Natsu began in disbelief. Then came his proud grin. "As expected of my partner!"

Socketing the immature brat, Lucy answered Mira.

"Yeah, turns out Natsu was right-"

"I am?" - "He is?"

All four voices spoke at the same time before turning to the said pinkette.

"What?!" The boy screamed, sounding scandalised.

"NO! It's not the maid thing! I meant as in the whole thing being a trap."

"Oh... Wait, WHAT?!" Natsu blurted out.

"Yeah, I only barely managed to get away and I think now they're after me."

Gray suddenly cut in - literally.

"It seems you're right."

* * *

A/N: Okay guys, I must say, I'm baffled. I haven't even uploaded my second chapter and within a day I've already got reviews and followers! It's a huge leap compared to my first fic and I gotta tell ya, I'm bloody elated right now XD And thanks to that, I feel obliged to write more and faster for all y'all and I hope that you guys will enjoy the story to come and keep those reviews coming (Can't learn and improve my writing skills if you don't tell me what's wrong) ^^ Cheers.


	3. Investigation

"G-Gray... What are you doing?" Lucy stammered as she shivered under the cold touch of her friend's ice blade on her neck.

"That's my line. Who the hell are you and why are you disguised as Lucy?" Gray interrogated.

"N-Natsu?" The girl pleaded her trusty partner only to find another pair of cold eyes looking back.

"You smell different. You're not Lucy. Who are you?" Natsu demanded.

Clicking her tongue, 'Lucy' threw a smoke bomb to the ground before dashing out of the place, making a quick escape.

"Oi! Wait you little-!" Gray began.

"I can track her!" Natsu announced as he ran after the impostor.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

"Lucy, are you sure you don't want to return to the guild?" Loke asked the girl.

"Yeah. I need to lay low for now. I've got no idea why are they after me, so I need to find out. _Discreetly_." Lucy explained, heaving a backpack to her back.

Stopping the recuperating girl, Loke took the bag over and instead placed a cap on the blonde's head.

"Thanks."

With that, the two left Lucy's apartment and the girl took one last look at the place she lived for two years (Make it nine if you include the 7 years she was frozen in Tenrojima).

"It's funny how it feels like I've lived here all my life." Lucy commented, heaving a sigh.

Smiling, Loke replied, "Well, you will so long as you're still a part of Fairy Tail."

"Yeah. But for now, I have a feeling I won't be returning here for quite sometime." Lucy paused for a bit to reminisce before turning to her stellar spirit. "I need to tell the landlady."

* * *

**1 Hour Later...**

In an alley way not far from where Lucy was held captive, the impersonator of Lucy made her way quietly to the warehouse but jumped in shock when a bloody figure fell out of a bend and into her view. Realising it was her comrade, she heaved a sigh of relief before quickly making her way to him.

"My God Joel! What happened to you?!" She asked.

Groaning, the man spoke, adjusting his jaw from a presumable hit his client dealt, "The stupid client! He got so pissed having the Heartfilia girl play him that he took it out on me!"

"Jesus!" The girl cursed in disbelief as she hoisted her friend up and sat him down on a crate nearby before taking out a roll of bandages from her belt pouch to patch him up with.

After awhile of silence, the man spoke up, pointing at the few shallow cuts the girl had over her arm and face, "What about you?"

"The target's friends didn't fall for the trap and they weren't too pleased about it." The girl explained none too pleased about it.

"Heh, I'm surprised you actually got away. Isn't one of them a master at tracking?"

"I knew, so I quickly dove into a make-up shop and shattered a few bottles of perfume all over the shop before using the crowd and confusion to get away."

"Nice." The guy nodded in impressment.

As the girl touched a bruise that stung, the guy complained in frustration, "Why on Earthland did we take up this mission anyway?!"

"Because 'he' called it."

"Urg... I'm starting to get tired of his whimsical ideals and methods. It's cramping our style!"

"Supposing you guys had any." A different voice boomed.

"Drake!" The girl squealed in false delight. "When did you get back?"

Drake continued to glare at the both of them for a bit before replying.

"Just." Then, with a heave, he picked up the satchel that was sitting not far from the crate Joel sat on. "Kate, search the target's apartment to look for anything useful."

Nodding, Kate took off, unwillingly leaving Joel alone in Drake's company.

"And you." Drake pointed at Joel. "Follow me."

"Where are we going?" Joel questioned, unafraid to voice his doubt.

"To pay a visit to the target's landlady."

* * *

"What did you tell your landlady?" Loke questioned his exhausted partner as they settled onto the seats of the train.

Although it was mid afternoon, Lucy hadn't really had the rest she needed and was desperate for some now.

"Just told her I will be leaving for quite sometime." Lucy answered lethargically.

Catching her hidden message, Loke decided to save anymore questions for another time.

* * *

"So, how was your end?" Gray called out to Gajeel who had just returned to the guild.

"No good. How's that brat?" He questioned back, pointing towards a knocked out Natsu.

"Still haven't recovered fro the perfume attack." Gray replied, sending the out-of-commission boy an unimpressed glare.

As he did, Natsu began mumbling hysterically.

"So... many smells... so... so... many..."

Ignoring the unconscious dragon slayer, the two resumed their conversation.

"Well, whoever that women was, it sure does not bolt well for Lucy..." Gray summarised.

"Tch. Troublesome girl..."

Overhearing Gajeel's rude comment, Levy automatically sent a jab into his flank, causing him to curse and growl at the girl.

"I'm worried about Lu-chan. Shouldn't we find her? What if something happened to her?"

As she said it, Natsu shot up from his stupor.

"YEAH! We should find her!"

"Well then, I know where you guys can start." Mira walked over, a copy of the job flyer in her hand.

* * *

"So... this warehouse is the place?" Erza questioned, analysing the place's exterior thoroughly.

"Oi, flamebrains, what's up with you?" Gray called out to the boy who was sniffing the place intently.

Suddenly, he stopped sniffing and started glaring at the shutter of the warehouse.

"This place reeks of blood."

"What?" Everyone sounded in unison.

"To be more specific," A scrawl graced the boy's face. "Lucy's blood."

Immediately, Natsu smashed into the shutter, crashing in the most ungraceful fashion into the warehouse. As the other's strutted in as though it was a normal everyday occurrence to smash through doors, Levy just stood outside, stunned by the boy's needless aggressiveness.

_I kind of understand how Lu-chan feels every time she hangs out with these guys._

"Oi. Hurry up peep-squeak." Gajeel called out when he realised the girl wasn't coming in.

Natsu had immediately covered his nose upon entering the place and nearly flew into rage, however, Erza was swift enough to knock the boy out before he could do anything rash.

Taking a quick look at the room, Erza spoke up, "This is too weird."

"Yeah." Gray agreed.

"This place has been scrubbed clean." Levy joined in the conversation as she ran her finger across the floor.

"And yet the smell of blood is still so strong." Gajeel commented nonchalantly. "Psh. That blonde must have really took the beating."

"Gajeel!" Levy gasped.

"Okay! Yesh..."

"We gotta find her." Erza told the gang. "And fast."

* * *

"How was your end?" Drake questioned Kate, gaze scanning the area around them.

Following Drake's constantly shifting gaze, Kate answered slowly, "Well, most of her stuff were still there, but all of her essentials are gone."

After pausing for awhile, she noticed what was wrong and quickly asked, "Where's Joel?"

"Hrmp, that coward, he said he quit."

"He said what?!"

Drake said nothing more but glared at the girl, causing her to slump back in fear.

"What on Earthland happened on your side Joel?" Kate questioned softly.

* * *

"What the-?! What happened here?" Erza immediately ran towards the pile of rubble that was once Lucy's landlady's house.

The whole gang began digging ferociously and upon dumb luck, Gray finally found an arm sticking out of the rubble.

"Here! Over here!"

Quickly, the rest of the gang made their way towards Gray.

"We gotta get her to Wendy, quick!" Erza commanded.

* * *

"It's a miracle she's still alive. All things considered." Wendy told them as she walked out of the guild's infirmary.

"My god... what happened?" Mira asked as she made her way to the group.

Hesitantly, Erza filled the guild in on what they found.

"So... you're saying... Lucy is in some potentially huge trouble?" Marco asked.

"Yeah." Erza nodded.

"This _is_ bad. If the enemy is going to such great lengths to get her..."

Turning to Wendy, Erza asked, "Is it possible to ask the landlady a few questions? We really need some answers."

Shaking her head, she explained, "Sadly, no, she is still unconscious and not to mention the possibility of trauma in the case she does wake."

Clicking her tongue, Erza turned to Gray and pointed to the still 'asleep' Natsu, "Tie him up. When he wakes, we'll have to tell him what we found."

"Yes m'am."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so this chapter can be rather annoying for some with all the break lines, but I needed them to make the connection from all three sides. And hopefully, by next chapter, I can squeeze out the motive of The Anonymous. =) Keep reviewing XD


	4. Joel

"Lucy. Lucy wake up."

"Mm hmm..." The said girl slowly got up. "Yeah?"

"We're here." Loke told the half awake girl gently.

Smiling in appreciation, the girl looked out of the window. They had finally reached a town at the edge of Iceberg that connected them to Bosco, and as the name suggests, the place was covered in pure white

"Snow..."

"Well, it _is_ that time of the year too." Loke pointed out.

"Yeah... Well, let's get going."

As the duo got off the train, Loke began flickering and the two looked at each other, understanding what this meant.

"You should go back for now." Lucy told the boy.

"But-"

"I'll be fine, I'll call the others if I get into any trouble." She reassured.

"Okay..." And with a glow, Loke disappeared.

_Okay... looks like it's just me now..._

Lucy looked around the train station and found it hard to not smile. Despite having Christmas weeks away, the town had already entered the festive cheers. Children ran around happily playing tag while their parent either tried to keep them in check or watched them with loving eyes. Inevitably, both the fond and bitter memories of her Christmases came back to her, making her unsure of whether she should cry or smile. Deciding to go with the latter, she slowly made her way to the nearest inn.

"Stop right there." A man called out to her.

Pausing to look around, she realised the man was talking to her.

"Me?"

"No, the idiot in the reindeer costume." The man bit back sarcastically.

Frowning, she asked, "What?"

"Is your name Lucy Heartfilia?"

"That depends on who you are."

"I'll take that as a yes."

Lucy was starting to dislike this man more and more.

"Who _are_ you?!"

"The name's Joel." The man finally introduced himself, putting out an uncharacteristic hand to shake.

Lucy slowly reached out, unsure of what to do. But, before she could even take his hand, the man pulled it back.

"Too slow."

And cue Lucy's frustrated groan.

"What is it with you? What do you want from me?"

"Well, I can tell you. But you've got to promise me something."

"No guarantees."

Scoffing, the man walked closer to the girl and jabbed her in her neck, knocking her out. Again.

* * *

"What are you guy's doing?! Why aren't we going after Lucy?" Natsu began struggling ferociously against the binds that tied him down.

"Because we have no leads!" Master told him for the umpteenth time.

"I can track her!" Natsu argued.

"And then what?"

Natsu froze for a bit. It was no secret that Natsu's thinking skills are nil.

"We can't just waltz around like we usually do. These people, whoever they are, are dangerous. They are obviously very well planned and prepared. No evidence, no trace. For all we know, they most likely have Lucy as a hostage right now. We _can't _act rashly."

Natsu just sat there, slowly absorbing in what the Master said. Sighing, Master walked up to the boy and patted his shoulder.

"If you really do care about her, then _wait._ It's the least we could do right now."

* * *

"Alone my dear?" The inn keeper asked.

"Yes... and... do you have any winter props?" Lucy asked sheepishly.

Although Lucy did have winter clothes, a certain someone's note had convinced her to get more proper traveling clothes.

Taking out a room key, the lady replied, "All that we have are in the shop to the right."

Smiling thankfully, she paid the lady and slowly made her way to the shop, hand rubbing her neck from the spot the man jabbed.

* * *

**30 Minutes Before...**

"Urg..."

Lucy was getting tired of getting knocked out and waking with a throbbing headache. When she realised she was in an alley way and recalled what happened, she immediately reached for her keys only to panic when she couldn't find it.

"Don't worry, your keys are with me." The man spoke.

"And how exactly does that make me _not_ worry?" Lucy questioned in spite.

"Well, I couldn't risk you going berserk in the middle of the streets and also needed someway to explain who I am without you, well, panicking."

"So you decided knocking me out the same way you did back at the warehouse would help simplify things? Swell." Lucy ended sarcastically.

Before the man could say anything, Lucy spoke up first.

"What do you want." A strong dislike in her voice.

"Well, your background for one."

Lucy glared at the man in disbelief.

"And why should I tell _you_?"

The man said nothing but dangled the keys in front of her face. Lucy immediately reached out to grab them but the man pulled them back.

"What the hell does the Kyle want with you?"

"Who the hell's Kyle?" Lucy questioned back.

Sighing in impatience, the man replied, "The man who had beaten you up. Don't tell me you don't know him."

Wrecking her brain for any data on that name, Lucy came back with the same answer, "Look, I seriously don't know who on Earthland is that guy nor what does he want from me."

Joel frowned and stared at Lucy intently.

"I'm serious!"

Sighing, the man dropped his gaze.

"I know." Pausing for a bit, Joel sat down on the alleyway too, head seeming to be deep in thought.

After awhile, Lucy realised a rather disturbing fact and decided to voice it out.

"Why didn't you tie me up?"

Frankly speaking, ever since the incident with 'Kyle' Lucy had a certain phobia for ropes and any binding devices. Bludgeons included.

"Well, I've got your keys and stella spirt mages never leave their keys in the hands of another, no?"

Lucy frowned. He got her alright.

"But what if I cared for my life more?"

"You wouldn't."

Lucy was a little baffled by this man's confidence and didn't know whether she should be flattered or annoyed. Shifting her gaze to the man's slightly exposed collar bone, Lucy was able to fit the pieces together better.

"You! That mark! You're one of the Anonymous!"

Joel only raised an unimpressed brow.

"Then _I_ should be asking _you_ why on God's Earthland did you guys kidnap me!"

"I don't know okay! We take the jobs and we complete them. No questions asked!" The man snapped.

Equally frustrated, Lucy countered, "Then why are you asking now?!"

"Because things are getting too out of hand!" The man shouted back.

Both parties decided to stop and and catch their breaths for awhile.

"Urg..." The man rested his head on the wall in an attempt to calm down. "Well, at this rate, the Anonymous is gonna be destroyed sooner or later."

And being her compassionate self, Lucy couldn't help but try to understand the man, even if the man was a really, really, _really,_ annoying man.

"What happened?"

The man stared at her for a bit before a smug smile reached his ear and made Lucy regret ever asking.

"Getting soft are you?"

"Urg..." Lucy grimaced.

Getting up, the man offered a helping hand, to which Lucy reached for but was once again pulled away from her before she could take it. Tired of the man's ungentlemanly ethics, Lucy could only manage out simple sigh. But what happened next took her by surprise. He gave her back her Keys.

"Wha-?"

"If you really do want to know more, meet me at the train station at 6 in the morning tomorrow."

"What?! So early? But I-"

And the man disappeared without a sound or sign. Just... gone. Lucy rubbed her eyes and took a double take. When she finally recovered, she opened her key pouch to find a note inside.

_P.s. Your attire SUCKS are you on a vacation despite having a massive target sign on your forehead?! Get properly __equipped, like proper traveling gear! Preferably white._

That, for obvious reasons, ticked Lucy off and she screamed to no one in particular, hoping that the man caught it from where ever he was.

"YEAH WELL... _YOUR_ LANGUAGE _SUCKS_!"

A few passer bys who caught her yelling gave her odd glares, causing her to retreat into the darkness of the alley in embarrassment.

* * *

Sifting through the racks of the shop, Lucy picked out a white winter track pants and white winter coat that had a furry collar. And the fact that she looked more puffed up made her convert from beautiful to cute. Not quite her character but she'll have to stick with it for now.

* * *

"She's awake!" Wendy exclaimed as Lucy's landlady slowly opened her eyes.

Natsu's head immediately shot up and yelled, "Lemme see her! Lemme talk to her!"

Master shot him a pitiful look before stopping him.

"You might not be the best person for the job."

"But-"

"Natsu. Patience."

"I hate this whole being patient thing..." Natsu grumbled under his breath.

"M'am? Are you okay?" Erza asked the currently frail woman.

"W-water."

On cue, Wendy brought over a cup of water to Erza and Erza helped lifted the woman up before feeding her the glass of water.

"What happened M'am?" Erza asked gently, voice laced with worry, contrast to her usual firm tone.

"T-two men."

"Yes? Erza pressed in anticipation.

"T-they came in and asked for one of my tenant's whereabouts."

Erza and Wendy shot each other a knowing glance before asking the landlady their next question.

"By tenant do you mean Lucy?"

The landlady shot them a shocked look before nodding.

"Y-yes. They asked perfectly normally, but as soon as they left, my office exploded and the whole building caved in!" By the end of her sentence, the landlady had already curled into a ball to protect herself.

Nodding towards Wendy, Erza took her leave, leaving the landlady in her care as she shared the newly obtained information to the rest of the guild. However, as soon as Erza left, the landlady grabbed Wendy's hand and continued.

"B-but just as the building caved in, a blue sphere seemed to have encompassed me! It protected me from most of the rubble. Most, but not all..."

Giving the landlady a reassured smile, Wendy instructed the injured woman.

"M'am, I understand. Now, please rest."

Settling the woman back into the bed, Wendy took her leave.

"How is she?" Romeo asks her the moment she left the room.

"Fine. She showed some signs of trauma but it wasn't very severe, so she'll recover soon enough." Wendy's voice was filled with relief.

Smiling, Romeo made a harmless comment that made the girl blush.

"You're really kind."

* * *

"Drake, where are we going?" Kate asked quietly, half hoping the brute heard her and half hoping he didn't.

"Back to the guild. Back to Iceberg."

* * *

A/N: Okay, slightly longer chapter than before and I still couldn't snuff out their motives. Ah well, till next time =) And I just realised it's supposed to be landlady, not landlord... I'll make the changes now... Review! ^^


	5. The Anonymous

Lucy looked to the left and then right, yawned, and then did the same again. Cupping her face in her hands, she tried to warm it from the cold gust of winds that had been blowing into her face for the past half hour.

"Well aren't you early." The annoying voice spoke again.

"_You_ are the one who was late! You said 6 in the morning! Look at what time it is now!" Lucy stretched out her pocket watch aggressively at the man.

"Well, little details." Joel waved off.

Rolling her eyes, Lucy proceeded to business.

"So, you gonna tell me about the Anonymous?"

"Patience lass. Let's go grab a coffee." With that, he turned on his heels and signalled for the girl to follow.

Under normal circumstances, she would've refused, but coffee sounded great to kill the cold right now so she obliged.

* * *

"Well, if they had to look for Lucy's landlady, it must mean that they have lost Lucy." Erza deduced hypothetically.

"Then how do you explain the blood?!" Natsu countered fierily.

Erza decided to ignore the hot headed boy since everything he says basically translates to 'Lemme outta here! Lemme track Lucy!'

"So what now?" Gray asks.

After much hesitation, Erza finally decides to set hell loose.

"We let Natsu track her."

"HELL YEAH!"

* * *

"How did you find me?" Lucy questions the man sitting across her, finger tapping impatiently on her arm as they are set in akimbo.

The man chuckles and takes another sip from his coffee. Annoyed, Lucy yanked the cup from him, ignoring the fact that she had accidentally spilled some over the table.

"This is your third cup! Can you seriously start talking?!"

Raising a brow, the man took out a napkin and started wiping the mess she caused.

"Why are you all the way here, in Iceberg?"

"I'm the one asking the questions." Lucy tried to set her superiority over him but his smug smile that came soon after told her it failed.

Realising the man isn't going to answer anything before she does, she resigned to doing so.

"Because-" Lucy stopped herself when she realised the connection. "You! Your guild! Here!"

And came Joel's chuckle again.

"Ironic really. I was returning to my guild in order to officially quit it and then I saw you on the same train. The girl that put me through all this." The man gestured at the gash on his face that looked like it would leave a scar.

Lucy frowned. "I didn't do that to you..."

"You didn't. But Kyle did after you 'played' him."

At this, Lucy's eyes went wide.

"O-oh... sorry."

Joel laughed again and Lucy got really ticked off.

"What?!"

"You are _way_ too good natured."

Pouting, Lucy settled back into her chair and the man turned into a serious note that took Lucy of guard.

"A lot of shit happened after you left Fiore."

"A lot of shit happened before I even left Fiore." Lucy commented.

Smiling, the man continued.

"Drake is going to stop at nothing to get to you. He already blew up your landlady's place to show for it."

"WHAT?! Why? And who's Drake?"

"There's a huge bounty on your head and Drake want's that bounty." As an afterthought, Joel added in. "Badly."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Lucy asked the million dollar question. "And why on Earthland is there such a huge bounty on my head?"

"Why don't we figure that out together?"

Lucy stared at the guy incredulously.

"Did you just seriously ask that?"

Joel shrugged nonchalantly and Lucy scoffed.

"What makes you think I would trust you?" Lucy bit at him.

Stating the obvious, he answered, "I don't."

Then, he proceeded to the bargain. "But there will be benefits if you work with me."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Lucy's voice was still filled with disbelief.

Sticking a finger out at every point, he began, "I know this area better than _you_ do, I know the nature of my guild better than _you_ do, I am stronger than _you_ are-"

However, before he could even move on, Lucy held a hand out in front of his face.

"Hold up, who ever said you are stronger than me?"

"The two incidents where I knocked you out before you could even do anything to me." He replied smugly.

Lucy growled at the man and stood up.

"Going somewhere?" Joel asked dauntingly.

However, before Lucy could even say anything, she was yanked down by the man and forced to hide under the table.

"What are you-"

Joel covered her mouth and looked to the door of the shop. Normally, curious gazes would've fallen on the duo but the shop was relatively empty due to the hour and saved them from any unwanted attention. Following Joel's intent gaze, she found a burly man walk in followed by a woman. As the two settled into one of the inner most seats, Joel released his grip from Lucy and clicked his tongue.

"Shit."

"What is it? Who's that?" At this point, both were conversing in hushed tones.

"Drake."

Once again, Lucy's eyes went wide and her chocolate brown eyes flew back and forth from Joel to Drake and vice versa.

"And who's that girl?"

"My partner, Kate."

Pausing for a bit, Lucy asked, "What now?"

"We leave."

* * *

"No. NO FREAKING WAY!" Natsu yelled ferociously and fought aggressively against Erza's death grip.

"THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THAT I'M EVER GONNA BOARD THAT TRAIN!"

The rest of the gang stared at the immature brat as Erza tried to get him in line. Finally, Levy decided to take out the manipulative line.

"For Lucy."

Natsu immediately froze and quietly, but unwillingly, let the scarlet haired girl carry him in.

* * *

After 10 ridiculous minutes of stealth crawling, Lucy and Joel finally made their way to the back of the shop and into the alleyway.

"Okay, what now?" Lucy inquires, voice returned to its normal level.

"Find a bathroom."

"What? Why?"

"I had three cups of coffee! I'm desperate."

Lucy face-palmed and desperately wanted to poke in on so many things but decided against her better judgement to not.

* * *

Back in the café, the other two continued with their conversation, oblivious to the events that transpired right under their nose.

"What now?" Kate asked her superior.

"We'll return to the guild and get more people to search the city."

"What ever for?"

"Because the target is most likely in this town."

* * *

"Okay, seriously, what now?" Lucy asked the relieved man who was finally done with his 'business'.

At this point, Joel's expression was a hard one. He stared at the sky for awhile to analyse it.

_Seems like a blizzard's brewing..._

Finally, he answered, tone serious, "Go home and rest up. Be on your toes and make sure _no one_ finds you."

"What?! That's it?" Lucy couldn't believe her ears.

"Tomorrow, meet up at the train station at 3 in the morning."

"Is it just me, or are your timings getting earlier and earlier?"

As though Lucy had been very unreasonable, the man just snapped, but contained himself, "Just-! ...Do as I say..."

Taken aback by the man's sudden change in character, Lucy decided to just do as she was told and nodded.

"O-okay..."

* * *

**That Evening...**

By now, the blizzard that grazed the town was at full force and Joel barely managed to get into his soon-to-be-ex guild in one piece.

"Hey Joel, back early huh?" A man behind the Anonymous's guild bar called out in sarcasm.

Joel said nothing but glared at the man.

"Woah... did something happen again? Drake was also pretty pissed..."

"Patrick." Joel's way of telling the man to shut up.

Slamming a few jewels on the bar, Joel ordered a drink to which Patrick gladly provided. Taking one gulp, Joel got to the point.

"Where's Drake?"

"In the Master's quarters. It seems like he's planning to rally up a few members to search the city."

"In this blizzard?! Has he gone mental?! Whatever for?!"

"Don't know. Something 'bout searching for a target or something."

Automatically, Joel grimaced in his heart. Looks like they might have to move sooner than planned and in a blizzard no less.

"Where's Master?"

"Why?"

"Just answer the damn question."

Normally this would've put people off but Patrick knew this was Joel's normal temper and he was a rather patient man himself so he just answered as per normal.

"In the Master's quarter, listening to Drake's ludicrous suggestion. Why?"

Dropping a few jewels into the tip jar, Joel bid his friend goodbye.

"Thanks mate. Hope we see each other from time to time."

Puzzled but asking no questions, Patrick saw his friend enter the Master's quarters.

"Joel? What are you doing?" His Master questioned in shock when his 'meeting' was interrupted.

Joel shot Drake a glare before proceeding inside and shutting the door.

"Just here to tell you I quit."

"Joel..."

"Let's just get this over and done with."

With that said, Joel took off his coat and pulled his shirt collar down just enough for the insignia to be fully viewable. Slowly, his Master made his way to him and with a tap, the emblem was gone.

"Adios! Suckers!" Joel called out behind him as he made his way out of the room and all this while, Drake just remained silent.

When the door finally closed shut, the Master turned to Drake, sympathy in his eyes.

"Pity... That's another good man gone..."

Closing his eyes, Drake ignored that comment.

"As I was saying..."

* * *

"Joel!" Kate called out to her former partner as he exited the guild.

"Kate! Where have you been?!" Joel called back, voice trying to beat the howling gust of blizzard winds.

Instead of answering immediately, Kate dragged him into a nearby book store to take shelter from the snowstorm.

"I was looking for you!" Then realising that she needn't raise her voice anymore, she adjusted her volume, "Have you quit the guild?"

Lowering his collar once more, he answered her with his bare collarbone.

"Why?" She gasped in disbelief.

"Kate, I need you to listen to me."

* * *

**Midnight**

*Knock* *Knock*

Lucy slowly rose from her bed. It was midnight and the blizzard was still raging on outside. Reluctantly, Lucy lifted herself of the bed and made her slow approach to the door. All this while, the rapping on the door repeated. It was funny, really, Lucy thought, that she could already guess who was behind that door just from the impatient rapping.

"Joel?" She asked as she opened the door.

Before she knew it, Joel had pushed pass her and pulled her into the room, closing the door behind him.

"J-Joel?"

"Okay, listen, we don't have much time so be quick and don't ask any questions."

"Wha-?!"

"Quickly! Dress up!"

Sensing the pressure and seriousness, Lucy did as she was told. At first, she was hesitant to change with a guy in the same room since there was no personal bathroom in this hotel, but Joel was busy looking out of the door hole so she decided to just go with it.

"Done." Lucy announced as she strapped her boots on and Joel immediately grabbed her by her hand and jumped out of the window.

* * *

A/N: I'm on a roll here! I just kept writing and writing and my mum was getting a little annoyed since she can't catch up with the speed I'm uploading XD Well, everyone, MERRY CHRISTMAS! I just hope this chapter wasn't too boring with all the talking =/


	6. The Chase

A/N: Okay, I'm really sorry not uploading for such a long time, but I bought a whole bunch of new games recently (Blame Steam for their Christmas sale!) and I was so darn engrossed with completing them, I had totally forgot about this... Sorry! And when I finally completed them (and my mum started chasing me to continue the story) I kinda lost the 'feel' for this story and couldn't write immediately (because the game's story and 'feel' were still stuck in my head) so I had to go through tumbler and deviant art to get my FairyTail 'feel's back to continue this story. So, after so long, IT'S OUT! YAY! Okay, maybe I'm the only one who's thrilled. Anyway, enough of my rant. Enjoy! =)

* * *

Maybe it was because of the blizzard or maybe it was because of Joel's hands, Lucy's scream was nearly inaudible for the town as the duo descended from the third floor of the hotel. However, instead of landing with a splat, they were engulfed in fluffy, cold, white snow; just like Joel planned. Immediately, he yanked the now fully awake girl out of the snow and proceeded their long and sluggish way to the train station. As Lucy was about to question Joel for the overly dramatic escape, she heard yells over the howling winds and figured why.

"Joel! What now?!"

"We leave!"

"Where?!"

"The train station!"

Everything passed in a blur. When the duo finally got to the train station, Joel quickly bought two tickets to head further into Iceberg despite the counter lady's quizzical gaze.

"Uh... your train would arrive at 01:00 at Platform 5." The lady informed.

Thanking her, the duo made their way to the waiting room to warm themselves up and stock up on their snacks.

"Alright, the train arrives at 01:00 and it's 00:45 right now, we just got to make sure they don't spot us till then. The blizzard would be a good cover." Joel planned.

"Shucks!"

"What?"

"I left my luggage in the hotel room and I forgot to return the key!"

"Lucy, excuse my poor choice of words now, but IT DOESN'T F***ING MATTER! Do you have your bare essentials with you?"

"Yeah..." On cue, she took out her important documents, still in shock at the man's use of unnecessary vulgarities.

"Good. Then you'll survive."

As soon as the words left Joel's mouth, Lucy dragged him to hide bellow the window of the room.

Hushed tones resuming, Joel questioned the blonde, "What was that for?!"

As though to answer his question, a bunch of brutes ran pass the windows of the waiting room, yelling "She went this way!" and "Are you sure?!"s.

"What now? If they catch us in here, we'll be sitting ducks..." Lucy asked.

"C'mon, we'll get out of here and wait at the platform to jump into the train the moment it arrives."

Following his orders, Lucy prepared herself for their long stealth crawling to the platform, but before they could leave the room, Joel grabbed Lucy's brown cap and replaced it with a white knit cap. However, before Joel could get rid of the cap, Lucy grabbed onto it and told the man sternly.

"No. This. is. mine."

Shrugging it off, they began their crawl.

* * *

"We're almost there." Erza informed the others as the train entered a blizzard.

However, only three others replied since one of them were busy shutting their mouth from letting their dinner out and the another was 'sleeping'.

"G-Gajeel..." Levy tried to comfort the poor dragon slayer who was barfing into a paper bag.

Grinning, Gray commented, "Well, this is one of the quietest ride flame-brain has ever been in."

"W-well... he _is_ unconscious..." Wendy pointed out.

As the train pulled to a stop, Natsu suddenly shot up and began sniffing.

"She's close!"

* * *

"00:59... one more minute..." Joel updated as the two of them sat crouched against a pillar in platform 5.

By then, the train's horn could be heard from where the duo were and they got up into a prepared-to-sprint position.

"Ready?" Joel asked.

"No." Lucy stated bluntly, "But I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Smirking, Joel concurred.

* * *

"LUCYYYY!" Natsu yelled at the top of his voice, hoping that the blonde would be able to catch his voice amongst the rushing gales of wind.

* * *

Lucy's head shot back. It was faint, very faint, but she was sure that she heard her name. However, she couldn't make out who and isn't in any position to figure out who it was.

"Lucy!" Joel called her back to him. "Any minute now!"

Nodding, she returned her focus on the train that had now entered the station, waiting for the moment it stops to jump in. However, her head shot behind her once more.

_Again. I heard my name_ _again..._

"Lucy!" Once again, Joel had pulled her back to the matter at hand but Lucy's head insisted on staying focused on the voice.

A figure was vaguely visible making it's way to them at a rather high speed and Joel stomach churned. There's no telling who that was.

"Lucy! We gotta go NOW!" Forcefully, Joel yanked the girl off the platform and into the train.

Making sure that they are not visible to the outside of the carriage, Lucy took a peak at the figure that was still quickly advancing towards their train. Finally, the figure was close enough for identification and sadly, Lucy had to duck immediately to make sure those guys don't see her.

"So? Who was it?" Joel asked with a smug tone.

Irritated, Lucy retaliated with a tone harsher than usual, "Some of your 'lovely friends'."

Having got the satisfaction of irritating the blonde, Joel returned to business.

"Well, it is definitely bad if they continue to search around here and eventually decide to check the train. Any ideas?"

Lucy was a little stumped. She was so used to having Joel call all the shots that she forgot how to think. It was kind of frustrating, but she couldn't deny the fact that Joel, despite his poor language and stuck up attitude, was rather reliable. Well, at least more than her usual team -something she can never say out loud-.

"What?" Joel finally broke her out of her stupor when he found her gaze a little to tense for comfort. "You falling for me now?"

"HELL NO!"

Four hands immediately made their way to cover her mouth as soon as the words left her lips.

"Idiot!" Joel scolded her in a hushed tone and they listened hard for any movements outside that would indicate that they were heard.

Nothing.

However, before Lucy could even let out a sigh of relief, Joel had immediately yanked her out of the train and onto the platform.

"There they are!"

"They're getting away!"

Lucy looked behind them to find a group of brutes coming after them.

"What the heck Joel?! You blew our cover!"

"No! _You_ blew our cover! Those guys heard you and were preparing to ambush us!"

"Come to think of it, it _was_ too quiet..."

"C'mon! We gotta throw them off!"

Finally, the gears in Lucy's head started turning again and a plan formulated in her head.

"Joel! I've got an idea." Lucy announced in confidence.

* * *

"C'mon, they made a left!"

Turning around the corner, what the brutes found was the duo splitting into two separate directions.

"Wha- who do we follow?!" One man questioned.

"Idiot! Follow the girl! She's more important!" Another man answered.

* * *

**5 minutes till train departs...**

"See, my plan worked out just fine!" Lucy gloated.

In contrast to Lucy's elation, Joel was filled with displeasure. Reason, that was the 10th time the blonde bragged the same thing.

"Yeah yeah..." Came his weak reply.

Just as Lucy opened her mouth to let out another gloat, Joel cut her off.

"Okay! I get it! Your plan was splendid! It was amazing that you thought up of having one of your stellar spirit dig the real you back to this platform while your other spirt pose as you and lure the idiots away!"

Realising the man had snapped, Lucy decided to shut up for awhile before retaliating softly.

"My stellar spirits have names... (Virgo for digging and Gemini for posing)"

Joel immediately shot a overly fierce gaze that burned a hole into Lucy's head before questioning the girl rhetorically, "Huh? Did you say something?!"

"N-nothing..."

Suddenly, Joel's pissed off face changed to a serious one as he pressed his ear against the carriage's wall and listened hard.

"Joel?" Lucy inquired softly, worried that she'll rail up the man again.

"Shh."

Extremely curious, Lucy decided to carefully perked her head up to peer out of the window, only to find a sphere of fiery flame heading in their direction. As Lucy's mouth opened to voice the name of the owner of those flames, she didn't know if it was due to relief or dread, but tears welled up in her eyes.

"Natsu."


	7. Cheer Up

"LUCYYYYY!" Natsu yelled as he desperately kept pace with the train.

Reaching out to the blonde, he signalled for the girl to jump into his arms.

"Don't worry! I'll catch you!"

However, instead of jumping, Lucy only retained a pained expression on her face as she apologised.

"I'm sorry."

"Wha-?!"

Without explanation, she shut the window and walked away, Joel following close behind her. As it happened, the train reached the peak of it's speed and sped away, leaving a stunned Natsu behind.

"Natsu!" Happy called out to his pal, the rest of the team treading close behind him. "Where's Lucy?!"

"On that train."

"What happened?" Gray asked.

"She... chose not to come with me."

* * *

**Back in the train...**

"You know, for a second there I thought you were seriously going to jump into his arms like the princess you are." Joel teased in a poor attempt to cheer a very dejected Lucy up.

However, the girl just remained silently curled up in one corner of the near empty train.

Sighing, Joel walked up to the depressed girl and did-for the first and probably last time-the sweetest thing he ever did to her; He patted her head gently. Slowly, Lucy turned her head to the man, shocked at the sudden affectionate gesture.

"Look, your guild is _the_ FairyTail. They are the most tenacious, powerful and bonded guild I've ever known (destructive too...). They won't hate you over something like this if that's what you're worried about. In fact, I bet you right this minute they're planning a way to rescue you or something."

Joel paused for awhile to see if she had cheered up, but when the shocked expression remained plastered to her face, he shoved her head to the side and strutted off, acting like the whole event never took place, causing Lucy to curse and swear at his name. Glad that the girl had finally recovered, Joel proceeded to a more important topic.

"But seriously, they are tenacious so we need to be careful to not get caught before we at least figure out what Drake and the Masked Man want with you."

Lucy nodded slowly. She couldn't agree more, after all, she didn't want to risk having to reject her team mates once more.

"So, we'll have to train you now." Joel continued.

"Huh?" Lucy looked at him with dumbfounded eyes.

"What? Don't tell me you think you're strong enough as you are right now. Or do you expect someone to always be there to save your skin?"

Before Lucy could retort, Joel continued, knowing what she was going to say.

"And before you start, cunningness isn't enough against who we're dealing with although I'll give you credit for that."

Pouting, Lucy couldn't help but admit it too. Being cunning is one thing, but, putting Drake aside (she never had a chance to assess his abilities), the Masked Man proved to be rather intelligent himself and she doubt the same trick of hers would fool him twice.

Finally, Lucy asked. "Okay, what do I do?"

Joel walked up to her and held out his palm. Lucy blinked.

"What?"

"Punch me."

"Huh?! And why should I do _that_?!"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Joel tried again.

"Punch me."

Hesitantly, Lucy punched his palm softly.

"I MEANT FER REAL!"

Pissed by his tone, Lucy decided to get serious.

"LUCY PUNCH!"

A moment of silence went by before Joel was found rolling on the ground laughing while Lucy was repeatedly yelling for him to shut up and not judge.

"Lucy punch?! What kind of naming sense is that?!" Joel asked between laughters.

Red in her face, Lucy softly mumbled, "Shut up..."

"Hah..." Finally, Joel's laughter died down. "Okay, you are pathetically weak."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked in disbelief. "I thought we cleared that up a long time ago?"

"But, it's not impossible for you to still win in a hand to hand combat."

"Riiiight..." Lucy questioned with a raised brow.

"Ever heard of Judo? Or Akido?"

"Um... if I'm not wrong, they're some sort of martial art skill? I think I've read about them somewhere... like using the opponent's weight against them or tackling their weak points..."

"You're not wrong." Joel concurred. "But there is a lot more to them."

And thus, began Joel's long debrief of the arts of Judo and Akido.

* * *

**Back in Ghiaccio*...**

**_*Ghiaccio: Italian for Ice and the name I came up with to give the first city of IceBerg when you enter from Fiore._**

The team sat in a cafe to rejuvenate after they had cleared up the wreck they made in the train station. After Lucy departed, the gang decided to rally up the remaining pursuers who were too slow at their escape and Gray, ever so 'kindly' offered to 'coax' information from them. Though hesitant, Erza gave her permission and Gray took off with his soon-to-be victims in an ice sled to how knew where.

"I wonder if Gray is managing well..." Wendy asked in a quiet voice as she took a sip from her cup of tea.

Stirring her own cup of coffee thoughtfully, Erza replied, looking out of the window, "I'm sure he is."

* * *

In an abandoned and isolated warehouse Gray found after traveling to the more pitiable side of town, Gray conducted his 'work'.

"I'll ask one more time... Why were you chasing Lucy?" Gray's voice dug deep into the man's eardrums.

"T-The hell you can do anything to make me talk! Everyone knows Fairy Tail don't kill!"

Sighing, Gray got up from his chair and slowly made his way to the bound up man. Not far from him sat his comrades, each seated in their individual chairs and each of them with their mouth bound shut.

"You're right." Gray nodded. "Fairies don't kill."

Although the words should have provided the man comfort or relief, it did nothing but further tense him up.

"But we can make you wish you were dead."

* * *

The door to the cafe opened with the tinkle of the bell.

"He's back!" Wendy perked up enthusiastically, mostly out of relief.

"He's still dejected?" Gray asked the team as he jerked his thumb at Natsu.

The rest only nodded.

"Ever since Lucy left, he's been staring at the sky." Levy explained.

Gray decided to ignore his unusual behavior, figuring that the moment he begins his talk, he'll automatically make his way to them. Without a sound, he settled into the seat opposite Erza and began his report.

"Those guys, it turned out that they were merely lackeys who followed orders without questions." Gray started and although Natsu had said nothing, he could taste the disappointment seeping from him.

"However, I did manage to get a few names."

"Give it to me." Erza demanded.

While Gray was eager to provided, he felt an unsettling pit form in his chest.

"Drake Delvington, Vanessa Burma, Cole Lewingston and Joel Regnal."

Natsu's ears shot up, but his body didn't even flinch. He didn't even turn towards the team and they were starting to find his impassiveness unnerving.

"Joel... Regnal..." Natsu tested the name on his tongue but came to totally despise it, "We should start with him."

* * *

A/N: Okay, I really dislike giving excuses, but for those who care, I had just started working part time and it really sucks the life out of an impassive person like me #_# in any case, I hope this chapter was okay... But, I'm planning to make some changes to the previous chapters cause I realised that no matter how fast a train travelled, you couldn't possibly reach a different continent in just the span of a day, so... yeah... I'm planning to revise my previous chapters =)


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